Shoe.



UNITED STATES; PATENT OFFICE.l

:LEONARD L. BLOOli/IIlSIGrTON,v OF ST. LOUIS/MISSOURI.

sHoE.

, specification of Letters Patent. patented March 31, 190e.` lapplicati@ med march 2s, 1906. seal No. 308,514. i

Y T o all whom it may concern.`

Be it known that I, LEONARD L. BLooM- INGToN, a citizen of the United -States,'resid ing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Shoe, of which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description as will en-r able any one skilled in the art to which 'it appertains to make 'and use the same, refer# ence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a shoe, and more particularly to the form of counter, by means of which the metatarsal bones below and in front. of the ankle are supported on the inner side and bottom, so as to revent the arch or instep of the foot from sin ing downwardly and inwardly either on account of natural weakness of the foot, or from excessive walkm0' or standing upon the feet. I

n the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form of shoe made in accordance with my invention, `Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete shoe; Fig.' 2 is an.

form, as these parts in themselves form no part of my invention= 10 is the counter, which is preferably formed of a single piece of sole leather embracing the heel and bottom of the foot. The lower edges of the counter 10 meet at l the line 11 in the bottom, as illustrated in Figs.

point 13 terminating substantially in of the ankle, as indicated in Fig/1. This.

2 and 3. The outer side of the -counter'lO curves downwardly from the heel toward the ball of the foot, as indicated b dotted line ali-12. in Fig. 1. The inner si e of the counter 10, however, extendsupwardly, below and in front of the ankle, its hi hest ont upward extension thus embraces the metatarsal bones so as to support thefsame on the inner side. Owing vto its shape,`\however, it does not encounter the ankle. It is held in place around the foot by the lacing 14, and

can thus be regulated as desired.

16 is a support or vstiffener formed of s ring metal and preferablyT of steel. This sti `ener l 16 supports the bottom of-the foot and also serves to bind4 the meeting edges ofthe counter 10 to the inner sole 17. The inner s'ole 17 is out inwardly from the edges so as to form integral fiaps 18, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and in full lines in Fig. 2.

19 represents nails or tacks, by means of which the stiffener 16, counter .10 and inner sole 17 are secured together. f

In making the form-of shoe'illustratedin the drawing, the counter is inserted between the upper leather andlining of the shoe. The inner sole is placed on the last inthe usual manner, the edges of the counter are drawn close together, i. e. the counter is lasted in shape, and the stifener 15 placed in position on the bottom of the counter. The stiffener, counter and'inner sole are now securedtogether by any suitable means, such, for instance, as the nails or tacks 19. It will be understood, of course, that both of the flaps 18 havel been turned back as illustrated' on the right hand side of Fig. 2. After the Shoe iscompleted, however, these fiaps are turned back into their original position and glued or otherwise secured down so as to cover Vthe fastening means 19 and thus present a smooth surface on the inside of the shoe. After the parts have been secured together, as above described, the outer sole 5 vand heel 8 are placed in position andsecured'in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by stitching or tacking 2() passing through and through, as shown in Fig. 2.

The bottom of the counter'l() and the stifl'ener 16 form an efficient support for the bottom of the instep or arch ofthe foot, while the upwardly extending portion 13 lof the "counter effectively supprts the inner side of the arch or instep and may be perfectly adjusted to the foot by means of the instep whereby a support for lthe arch of the foot 1s formed. e

2. In a Shoe, the combination wah-the vamp, 'quarter and outer sole, of `a counter extending around the heel and' thence upwardly and forwardly on the inner side to a point in front of the ankle and the outer side of which inclines forwardly and downwardly from the heel.

3. ln a shoe, the combination with the vamp, quarter and outer suole of a counter the inner side of which inclines upwardly and forwardly from the heel to a point in front of the ankle and thence downwardly and forwardly `adjacent to the lace of the quarter.

4. In a shoe, the combination with the Vamp, quarter and outer sole, of a counter the inner side 0f which inclines upwardly and forwardly from the heel to a point in front of the ankle and thence downwardly and forwardly adjacent to the lace of the quarter, and the outer side of which inclines forwardly and downwardly from the heel.

5. In a shoe, the combination with the vamp, quarter and outer sole, of a counter the edges of which nieet at the bott-0in, the

`inner side of said counter being inclined upwardly and forwardly to a point in front of the ankle, and a spring nietal stifl'ener secured to the bottoni of Said counter.

6. In a shoe the combination with the Vamp, quarter and outer sole7 of a counter the edges of which ineet at the bottoni., the inner side of said counter being inclined upwardly and forwardly to a point in front of the ankle, and the outer side of which is inclined forwardly and dmvnwardly froin the heel, and a spring metal stiflener secured to the bottoni of Said counter.

LEONARD L. BLOOMINGTON. Wvitnesses WM. V. DELAHUXD, B. FROHERCHSTEIN. 

